PRIDE AFRICA commenced operations in 1988 and was formally incorporated in Washington DC, USA, as a non - profit corporation. It is registered within the meaning of section 501-(c)-3 of the Internal Revenue Code with offices at 100 North Pitt Street, Suite 202, Alexandria, VA 22314 USA. In Kenya, the company operates under certificate of compliance number F. 23/93 and is located in Nairobi.

Research and Development

PRIDE AFRICA (PA) was an early pioneer in successfully introducing the group solidarity model in East and Southern Africa through a network of over 60 branches in 5 countries serving 130,000 plus clients. Now managed by PRIDE Management Services Ltd., PRIDE AFRICA has taken on a Research and Development role, concentrating on developing new ideas, products and platforms to mainstream the poor consistent with its mission of creating a commercially sustainable financial and information services network in Africa.

The strategic focus is on three key areas:

• Developing a commercially viable savings led financial model for smallholder farmers that can be widely shared and replicated in partnership with commercial banks, financial intermediaries and the private sector.

• Designing and implementing a commercial ICT based information exchange platform to promote financial and non-financial transactions linking markets, micro entrepreneurs, smallholder farmers and the formal sector.

•  Working as part of a global partnership to develop and promote standards and technology to take Microfinance to scale and bring the poor into the formal markets through wealth creation

Micro Finance

However, the model through which PRIDE AFRICA has successfully provided short-term working capital loans to urban micro entrepreneurs over the last 10 years is not suited to address the peculiarities of crop financing. Simply transferring existing micro credit technology/services wholesale to the rural area is not feasible for or acceptable to more agriculturally based clients; the conventional weekly mandatory saving deposits that serve as collateral substitutes in urban microfinance have little resonance with rural farmers. Thus, PRIDE AFRICA entered into an agreement with the Princeton/Harvard University based Research Team to take a lead role in researching and developing an equally successful model targeted to the smallholder farmer.

  World Bank Study (PDF, will open in new window)

pdf\DrumNet Presentation Nov 2006.EXE

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